One big card or several small ones? The fee math

Say you have $600 of online spending planned for the next few months: some subscriptions, an ad test, a couple of purchases. You could order one $600 card and use it for everything, or split the budget across several cards, one per purpose. One card is cheaper. Several cards give you more control. The right choice depends on how much that control is worth to you, and the fee math is simple enough to work out in a minute.

The cost difference

Each card has a fixed issue fee of $5.00 and a top-up charge of 15% on its balance. The top-up charge depends only on the total balance, so it is the same whether the $600 sits on one card or six. The difference is entirely in issue fees: each extra card adds one more $5.00.

With an illustrative issue fee of $5 (the live fee is $5.00):

Use the pricing calculator with the live rates to see your exact totals.

What several cards buy you

Separate limits

Each purpose has its own ceiling. A runaway ad campaign cannot drain the money set aside for your password manager renewal. A forgotten trial cannot eat your gift budget.

Smaller exposure

If one merchant is breached or one card number leaks, only that card's balance is at risk. With one big card, everything is.

Clear records

Every receipt on a card belongs to one purpose. At month end you can see at a glance what ads, tools or shopping cost. The month-end close becomes much faster.

Easier stopping

To stop all spending in one category, stop using that card. No need to edit billing on other services.

What one card buys you

• Lower total cost by the extra issue fees.
• Less to manage: one set of details, one expiry date, one balance to watch.
• Less leftover risk: with many small cards, small amounts can end up stranded on each. One card pools the leftovers.

A rule of thumb

Give a purpose its own card when at least one of these is true:

• its spending can jump unexpectedly, as with ads, metered services or team tools;
• a failed payment would be costly, as with domains, hosting or an important subscription;
• you need separate records for it, for a client, a business or tax purposes;
• the merchant is new or unfamiliar.

Group purposes on one card when spending is small, predictable and low-risk: a few streaming services, occasional shopping at stores you trust.

Examples

Freelancer

One card for personal subscriptions, one card per active client for tool costs that will be billed back. Client cards make invoicing easy; see billing clients for tool costs.

Small online shop

One card for ads, one for the shop's software and email platform. Ads are volatile, software is predictable; keeping them apart protects the software from ad spikes.

Household

One card for shared streaming and music, one small card for trials and one-off purchases. Household streaming bills describes the first.

Avoiding stranded balances

The main cost of many small cards is not the issue fee; it is money left on cards that are no longer needed. Size each card to what that purpose will really spend before its expiry date, keep a modest margin, and keep a short list of small planned purchases that can absorb leftovers. Using up leftover balances has ideas. If a card ends up untouched, its whole balance qualifies for a refund; once a merchant has charged it, the published rules for used cards apply instead.

Timing matters too

The split is not only about purposes; it can also be about time. A single large card that has to last six months must stay valid for six months, and every subscription on it must keep working until the last renewal. Two cards covering three months each are easier to line up with expiry dates, and they let you change your mind halfway: if a tool turns out to be unnecessary, the second card can simply be smaller. Splitting by time costs the same one extra issue fee as splitting by purpose, so choose whichever split matches the decisions you expect to make.

There is also a practical side to ordering. Our team checks every paid order by hand, so several cards ordered together mean several separate checks. If a purchase depends on a card arriving by a certain date, order that card first and the others afterwards.

Revisit every few months

Your setup should change with your spending. If two cards always run in parallel and never cause problems, merge them next time. If one card keeps causing surprises, split it. Note each change in your card logbook.

Quick answers

Does a bigger card get a lower percentage?

No. The top-up charge is the same percentage at every size. Only the fixed fee is spread more thinly.

Can I move balance between my cards?

No. Each card keeps its own balance and is not reloadable. Plan sizes before ordering.

See how it works for ordering. Paid orders are usually checked and issued within a few hours.